The Dawn Project's Transition to Mission Operations: On Its Way to Rendezvous with (4) Vesta and (1) Ceres
- Paper number
IAC-07-A3.5.04
- Author
Dr. Marc D. Rayman, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Keyur Patel, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Carol A. Raymond, Jet Propulsion Laboratory / CalTech, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Christopher T. Russsell, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Dawn is completing system environmental tests now in final preparation for its launch in June - July 2007 on a mission to rendezvous with main belt asteroids (4) Vesta and (1) Ceres. The ninth project in NASA's Discovery program, Dawn is designed to provide insights into important questions about the evolution of the solar system by acquiring data for a wide range of investigations on these two complementary protoplanets. The spacecraft will spend more than 0.5 years in orbit about each one, becoming not only the first orbiter of an asteroid in the main belt but also the first spacecraft ever to orbit two targets after leaving Earth. The first two months of the mission will be devoted to checking out the spacecraft to prepare for the extensive ion propulsion system thrusting required for its transfer to the asteroids. This paper will discuss the system environmental tests and preparations for flight as well as the outcome of the launch and the progress on early mission operations.
- Abstract document